


what a catch

by gwenstcy



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (Comics), Thor (Movies)
Genre: High School AU, M/M, Multiple chapters, Slow Burn, Stucky - Freeform, ThunderScience - Freeform, abuse warning!!, bruce is a big nerd, bruce is very anxious, gammahammer - Freeform, no graphic details, there are a lot of characters but bruce and thor are central, thor is a jock, thor is very hot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-13 04:15:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14741807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gwenstcy/pseuds/gwenstcy
Summary: “I’ve got troubled thoughts and the self esteem to match, what a catch.”bruce and thor are polar opposites. bruce is a quiet, anxious science nerd while thor is a happy, popular jock. they couldn’t work together...could they?





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bruce attends a party and has a run-in with thor

Bruce hated parties. Not only were they a source of extreme anxiety for him, they were full of his classmates he hated the most. High school parties were dominated by star football players, which was far from his reality. Bruce was comfortable with his social circle, he had many acquaintances and a few friends from the chemistry club and orchestra. He was invisible to most everyone in his classes, except for science classes, and he was okay with that. Even so, it still frustrated him to no end the notoriety athletes got for simply throwing a ball across a field. So here he was, Saturday night at a house party celebrating the football team’s recent victory, wondering how he got there. Of course, he knew how he got there, Tony had driven him, but he still didn’t understand why he agreed to go. Yes, Tony could be persuasive, but he had asked Bruce to accompany him to dozens of parties in the past and Bruce had always said no, but tonight, he came without a fight. Maybe he was just tired of Tony asking him and thought if he came once his friend would finally shut up about it and leave him be. Bruce couldn’t help but feel like there was some other reason though, unbeknownst to him. His curiosity was an incredible force, which tended to take over the logical side of his brain, though usually they went hand in hand when it came to science experiments. This was not one of those times. As stupid as it sounded, Bruce felt as if a mysterious cosmic force was driving him here tonight, to a setting which under normal circumstances he would hate. 

He tried to be optimistic on the way over with Tony, forcing himself to enjoy the wind blowing through his curly hair in the red convertible as his friend blasted rock music through the base-heavy speakers. Soon, Bruce’s self sabotaging irritation kicked in and the once light breeze felt suffocating and strong as it blew his hair frustratingly into his face and the music blared in his already throbbing ears. He knew logically he was imagining this intensity, his eardrums weren’t really throbbing, but his apprehensive state convinced him it was. Needless to say, Bruce couldn’t wait to get out of the car, but when they arrived at the party, everything worsened. 

As Tony turned the corner onto the cul de sac, Bruce could hear the deafening sounds of pounding shitty music and practically smell the sour scent of cheap alcohol. He felt like he was going to vomit. Tony noticed his wide-eyed trepidation and walked over towards his friend after parking, both of them facing the house. He knew Bruce hated physical contact, but didn’t know any other way to calm him down. The best he could do was a meek “Everything okay, Brucie?” which was met with silence. Tony couldn’t say he was surprised. Try as he might to get Bruce out of his comfort zone, the boy wouldn’t budge. He was perfectly happy to spend his Saturday nights with a cup of tea and a good book. He knew Bruce had issues, but he would never talk about it. Everyone had issues though, and nothing would ever change if he didn’t put himself out there, by Tony’s logic. He had tried to give him time, but maybe they didn’t have the type of friendship where you poured out your emotions and talked about your problems. Then again, Tony wasn’t the sharing type, he liked to act like nothing was ever wrong. Then maybe he would believe it himself. Now, he wanted to indulge in the popular mind-numbing activity of high schoolers and troubled adults alike: drinking shitty tasting alcohol while dancing away everything wrong with the world. That’s why he’d been so insistent on Bruce coming tonight, it was a way to forget, even for the briefest amount of time. While Tony was lost in thought, he hadn’t noticed Bruce close his weary eyes and let out a deep sigh.

“Okay. I’m ready.” Bruce stated simply, masking a great fear beyond those words. He was afraid of the world and he was pretty sick of it. He knew this party would probably end up being a huge disaster, but his curiosity drew him here. Bruce wanted to see how the other half lived, in all their splendor. He was a scientist by nature and a high school party is equivalent to observing creatures in their natural habitat. Besides, unlikely as it may be, he could find that there wasn’t really anything to be afraid of. 

Tony, surprised but trying not to show it, nodded and gestured for Bruce to lead the way. This was met with a tense and worrisome glance from his friend, which Tony should have expected. It was enough madness that Bruce was even going to a party, Tony couldn’t make him walk in confidently alone. He wanted to tell the boy he was proud of him, but decided against it in case it made Bruce overthink his decision to come. Tony simply led a wide-eyed Bruce, clinging to his side, further into the chaos of drunk and victorious teenagers. 

Bruce’s already heightened senses were overwhelmed as they all too quickly approached this cesspool of misguided joyfulness. He was greeted by the sounds of whooping, chanting, thumping music, and laughter all at once. He saw a crowd of people barely wearing any clothes, a huddle of monsters in football jerseys, and a trashed house that had once been immaculate and ornate, but all of this was behind the overwhelming presence of what seemed like hundreds of red solo cups littering every inch of the vicinity. The stench combined the horrific smells of the cheapest alcohol fake IDs could buy, vomit, and sweat. Bruce did his best to separate all these overpowering sensations and looked around for something familiar. Taking slow breaths as he rotated around the room, he caught the eye of Loki. Bruce was taken aback, not expecting to see him in this crowd. All he received was a trademark eyeroll before the boy headed upstairs, once again igniting Bruce’s curiosity. He assumed upstairs was off limits, as no one else seemed to be there, so what was Loki up to? The aloof teenager was known to be a troublemaker and spent a lot of time in detention. 

Thor was feeling great. He was absolutely killing it in beer pong against his teammate Korg, but was taking shots anyways. Thor was surrounded by people who thought he was a God, his friends, and was on top of the world. The little bit of alcohol he had consumed so far already left a warm feeling in his stomach and a smile on his face. His team had won the game and he was the one who had led them to victory, making the final pass into the in-zone to break the tie against the other team. He had really dedicated himself to the game this year, having been mainly a benchwarmer all last season, Thor had come a long way. Korg then let out a groan as he missed Thor’s triangle of many cups, which was doubled as Thor made the final shot into Korg’s single cup and won the game. The many people watching their competition let out a symphony of cheers and began chanting Thor’s name. Korg threw back the last drink and congratulated his challenger on a game well played. Thor grabbed his remaining cups of alcohol and made his way through the decent crowd surrounding him, a large grin plastered on his face, pumping his alcohol-free fist in the air. The smile soon feel though, as he tripped on a rogue foot at the edge of the crowd and came flying out, straight into a unknowing stranger.

Bruce instantly snapped out of his wonderings as he saw a large blur hurtling towards him. He had just enough time to extend his arms, which slowed, but failed to stop the heavy mass being thrown against him. He was soon covered in the sticky feel and awful pisslike stench of beer and the warm hands of a strong stranger. The boy, well, he was more like a man, soon regained his footing and began apologizing profusely, but Bruce didn’t hear anything until the stranger’s hands finally released him. Everything was moving too fast as he tried to register what was happening. How did he become covered in beer with this guy gripping onto him? When Bruce finally looked in his face, he recognized who it was instantly. Thor Odinson, the always jovial football star, the golden boy beloved by all, had collided into him and was now showering him with slightly slurred “I’m sorry man, so sorry.” Thor turned around and shouted something out to another person Bruce also recognized as a football player. The music was still uncomfortably loud and Bruce couldn’t make out what was said. “Are you okay?” Thor asked, which Bruce didn’t have to answer, as the previous football player had returned and was handing Thor a colorful object. Time was moving too fast and Bruce didn’t realize what the object was until Thor was rubbing it harshly against Bruce’s chest. The towel seemed to burn his skin as he felt Thor’s hands grazing his skin with a fiery sensation. He couldn’t move, or speak, but he felt like screaming. As Thor began to lift Bruce’s shirt, yelling about getting him with a fresh one, the shocked boy finally came to his senses. 

“NO! Get off me! Don’t touch me!” He screamed as loud as his hoarse voice allowed him and weakly pushed the monster of a boy away from him. Thor instantly jumped back, shocked by all the anger found inside this little person as the area fell silent. 

Tony, never far away, rushed to Bruce’s side and beckoned him back towards the car. He knew this party was too good to be true and leave it to a stupid football player to ruin it. Tony hadn’t seen exactly what had happened, but the sight of a beer-soaked Bruce and a large football player wasn’t a welcome sight. Bruce instantly locked eyes with his friend and ran to the front of the house, with Tony following close behind.

Thor finally ended his stunned stupor and rushed along as well, quickly gaining on Tony due to his size. He didn’t exactly know how he made this guy so upset, but it was his fault and he intended to mend it. It wasn’t in Thor’s nature to hurt others (unless they deserved it of course, then he wouldn’t hesitate to rain hell upon them) and he felt awful for causing so much pain. As he passed Tony, he was met with an angry fist to his shoulder. The dark-haired boy turned to face him and flashed a nasty glare. “Stop. Don’t you think you’ve done enough?” His words dripped with an icy contempt and Thor was once again stunned to the point of immobilization, as the boy turned and left. The party around him had resumed, but Thor was stuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed the first installment of this adventure! i adore comments and they are much appreciated! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the aftermath of the party

The car ride back to Bruce’s house was silent. He and Tony had originally planned on having a sleepover at Tony’s place after the party, but due to Bruce’s current state, it was a pretty safe bet that it wouldn’t be happening anymore. Tony knew nothing he could say would make Bruce feel any better and felt like this mess was partly his fault. If he hadn’t been so insistent on his friend coming to a party with him, none of this would have happened. All he had wanted was for Bruce to try something new, but he should’ve known he was too fragile. Tony didn’t understand the full extent of Bruce’s anxiety, but he knew it had something to do with his home life. In the three years that he and Bruce had been friends, he had never been inside his house. The first time Tony had asked him about his family, Bruce simply shook his head. Their friendship was still fairly new at this point, so Tony decided not to press the issue. Later on though, after Bruce had spent many nights sleeping over at Tony’s house and he still knew nothing about his family, he brought the question up again. This time, Bruce was more comfortable with Tony and revealed a minimal amount of information about his home life. From what Tony could gather, Bruce’s father saw him as a disappointment, he had no siblings, and something had happened to his mother. Tony didn’t know whether she had left or died, all he knew was that Bruce got a far off watery look in his eyes when he brought it up. After that, Tony never asked any more. Maybe that made him a bad friend, he didn’t know, but Bruce ran so hot and cold that he didn’t know how he would react.

It was funny, well not laugh out loud funny, more like odd, how Bruce seemed perfectly normal most of the time. He wasn’t a normal teenager, but a normal nerd for sure. Tony tended to forget his friend’s crushing anxiety until something like this came up. He looked at his friend who was facing the opposite way, watching the houses as the car raced by, covered in the stench of beer and humiliation. This was the worst Tony had ever seen him and Bruce had been doing so well...he and Tony hadn’t even been hanging out all that much. Bruce was consumed with the chemistry club and orchestra rehearsal and spent time with his friends from those activities. Tony couldn’t help but feel protective over his friend, I mean God, he looked like he was in desperate need of a hug so much of the time, but wouldn’t let anyone close. Tony inferred that this had something to do with his crappy father. 

Soon, they reached their destination and Bruce wordlessly stepped out of the car, not even looking at Tony. “Hey Bruce!” He called, as his friend was already halfway up the street. Bruce turned ever so slightly towards his friend and it was then that Tony realized he had no idea what to say. All he could think of was, “Have a good night Bruce. Okay?” Bruce nodded ever so slightly and whispered, “You too, Tony.” and walked into the house. 

Bruce still hadn’t processed everything that had happened at the party. All he knew was that he felt and smelled like shit and hoped more than anything that his dad wasn’t home. He quietly stepped into the dark foyer, struggling to make himself as presentable as possible in case his father was around. He tiptoed around the kitchen and into the living room, where Fox News was still playing at top volume from this morning. His father wasn’t there, but had an awful habit of leaving the television on all day. Bruce shook his head at the two people yelling at each other, wasn’t there anything going on in the world to report instead of this petty argument? Bruce then braved the staircase, praying to whatever God was out there. Bruce didn’t know if he believed in a God, but if there was one, it’d be great if he helped out right about now. As he reached the door to his father’s room, Bruce’s heart was racing as he pressed his ear against the door and...nothing. Another late night in the lab for his father, a big sigh of relief for Bruce. He knew his father would have really let him have it if he saw his beer-soaked son and that was far from what Bruce needed right now. 

Bruce started the shower, turning the temperature up to as hot as he could bear and stripped his sticky clothes off. There, he was already feeling a little better. He stepped into the stream of water and felt a warm bliss at first, until the feeling brought him back to earlier that night. The warm water became the burning feeling on his chest where Thor’s fingers grazed his bare skin and the towel grated against him. He began to hyperventilate and immediately turned the temperature all the way down, the cold water shocking Bruce out of his nightmare. His heart was beating in a new way he didn’t recognize and he registered the feeling as hate. Yes, that must be it, he had a deep loathing for this stupid, massive football player whose warm hands had humiliated and disturbed him. Bruce attacked himself with a bar of soap, trying to scrub away all the awful memories of the night. 

Bruce provided himself as much comfort as possible, putting on his favorite sweatpants and a fuzzy green sweater. It was warm in the house, but a brisk October evening outside so Bruce cracked open his window and listened to the sounds of the night. A cat meowed in the distance, crickets chirped, and the breeze whispered. He curled himself into bed and pulled his covers up all the way to his chin. Making sure he heard no sounds to indicate his father’s arrival, Bruce pulled out his prized possessions from a hidden spot underneath the covers. First, his stuffed dog from childhood, Chip, who used to accompany Bruce everywhere he went, and was his fifth birthday present. He had wanted a real puppy more than anything, but due to his father’s allergies, would never happen, a source of a young Bruce’s tears. His mother surprised him on his birthday with Chip and had promised he would be the family dog and they would treat him as such. She kept her promise, taking Bruce and Chip on daily walks and keeping real dog food in a bowl for him to nibble on. Bruce hugged the toy to his chest. He used to be able to make out the scent of his mother’s perfume on the dog, but it was fading every day and was now barely present. Next, he pulled out an old photograph of his mother cradling a small boy in her arms. The first photo of he and her together and one of the only ones left after his father’s crazed purge of all memories of the woman was beautiful. Bruce’s mother had a youthful glow about her and a gigantic smile on her face as she looked not into the camera, but the contents of her arms, her own creation, her own son. Bruce’s exhaustion quickly led him into a deep sleep, as his eyes drifted closed staring into his mother’s happy face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you all enjoyed this second chapter! comments are wonderful, i love to hear from you!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bruce and nat have a chat during orchestra class.

Bruce was late to school, an anomaly for the straight A student. His father had either left for work early, or had never come home the night before, and Bruce had forgotten to set an alarm. He was used to being awakened by his father’s vicious banging on the door, but he had been increasingly absent the past few weeks. When he was home, he was constantly muttering under his breath about his plans for his big project he was currently working on. The scientific side of Bruce wished to learn from the brilliant scientist, but his heart reminded him that his father was a detached madman. Bruce dressed as quickly as he could and hopped on his bike to begin the lengthy ride to school, worrying himself by making calculations about his tardiness. It was already fifteen minutes after classes had started and if he was lucky he would arrive in about twenty-five minutes, which put him at forty minutes late to school, leaving only twenty minutes left for first period. This sucked, because first period was one of his favorites, orchestra. The class always relaxed him and was a great way to start the tumultuous day. Classical music was a constant calmer for Bruce’s anxious mind, it really helped him clear his thoughts. While science ignited his mind, like waves crashing on the shore of his brain, music helped still the waters and see across the horizon. He could lose himself in the music and forget his own worries, feeling as if he was a part of something bigger. 

When he arrived, five minutes earlier than expected and completely out of breath due to Bruce’s lack of regular exercise, he faced the dreaded notion of walking in. He tended to arrive early to his classes to get in his seat and prepare, especially in orchestra, where he had to retrieve his cello from the instrument closet, tighten and rosin his bow, tune the instrument, and get out his music. God, now everyone was going to watch him go through the motions alone. He reached the door and could hear the beautiful music pouring out along with the encouraging words of his teacher. After taking a deep breath and wishing he were invisible, Bruce opened the squeaky door and handed his teacher his tardy slip from the office before speed walking to the instrument closet. When he returned, his teacher greeted him with a warm “Glad you could make it, Bruce.” He also received a small wave from Natasha across the room in the violin section. “See, Bruce?” He thought, “That was fine. You have nothing to worry about.” The last sentence was one he had repeated to himself over and over again, but he couldn’t stop the constant rapid beating of his heart and shortness of breath whenever anything, minor as it may be, affected him in a potentially negative way. His mind routinely ran through every possible awful thing that could occur in any situation, which he hadn’t been able to shut off since his mother was there to coax him through it. 

Bruce was only able to play his instrument for fifteen minutes with the class before his teacher ended class to allow them time to pack up their instruments before the bell rang. Thankfully, kind woman she was, pulled Bruce aside and invited him to take the cello home for the weekend and practice since he missed class. Bruce was still packing up the large instrument when he looked up and saw Natasha standing over him. “You were late.” She stated simply. 

Natasha was positively gorgeous, a fact no one could deny. Her eyes were beautiful and seductive, but could murder you with a single look. Her chin length red hair always fell perfectly in waves and whenever she moved her head, it looked like she was tossing her hair for a shampoo ad. Her body was incredibly sexy, but incredibly muscular from her martial arts training. Her body unwillingly seemed to attract disgusting men, so she picked up martial arts the year before as self-defense and fell in love with it. She loved feeling strong enough to crush a man’s head between her thighs, a threat she used quite often, jokingly to Bruce, seriously to many others. In addition to having a beautiful body that doubled as a weapon, Natasha was incredibly witty and a good friend. 

Natasha and Bruce had become friends when he witnessed a rare moment of weakness of hers. They had orchestra together since freshman year and Bruce wrongly assumed she was a stuck-up princess who was only so good at the violin because her parents paid an immense amount of money for private lessons. This was far from the truth. Two months ago, Bruce stepped into the performing arts building during his lunch break, having forgotten his lunchbox there that morning and found much more than a peanut butter sandwich awaiting him. Bruce heard a muffled noise grow in volume as he approached the instrument closet and warily opened the door to find a teary Natasha clutching her violin. At first, all he could do was stare at this girl who always seemed so perfect and put together degraded to this. She met his eyes with one of her signature death glares, which actually made Bruce laugh. Of course, this was totally not appropriate to the situation and Natasha’s face scrunched up as she attempted to save face and stop the trickling tears. 

“You think this is funny?” She squeaked. Bruce was not a man of many words, but launched into a lengthy apology. 

“I’m so sorry, no, no of course not. It just slipped out, nervous laughter I guess. I’m just surprised, you’re normally so incredibly poised. Not that you’re not still beautiful, but you’re not really my type…” Bruce trailed off his stupid ramblings as Natasha let out a distinctly unladylike snort. This was the first sign that told Bruce he wanted to be her friend. 

“Sorry.” He shrugged. He wasn’t really a ladies’ man. 

“No, I appreciate your honesty. It’s a nice change.” She gave him a genuine smile, which Bruce returned and sunk to the ground to sit next to her and finally asked what was wrong. 

Natasha explained that she had to perfect this piece, but couldn’t seem to get it, even after hours upon hours of practice. She just wasn’t feeling it, the passion she normally felt when she played. This song had no emotion, goddammit! There was so much pressure on her to be perfect in all aspects of life, but it wasn’t solely her parent’s fault, she was incredibly hard on herself. She felt she always had to be the best of the best in everything she did: academics, athletics, music, appearance, etc. All the things she had once loved were starting to lose their joyous affect on her as she pushed herself harder and harder.

Bruce did his best to comfort her by doing one thing he was great at: listening. He let Natasha do all the talking and once she was done, Bruce just nodded and offered to help her with the piece. They spent the entire lunch period together poring over the piece, laughing at every misstep until Natasha was out of her head and able to play the piece all the way through. She didn’t play perfectly, but even better because she played with feeling and confidence.

“See? The emotion was always there, you just had to find it in yourself.” The two were friends from that moment on. 

Bruce finished packing up his instrument as Natasha looked at him expectantly. “Yeah, forgot to set my alarm.” 

“That’s not like you, Bruce. Come to think about it, you haven’t been like you lately. What’s up?” How Natasha managed to sound accusatory and concerned at the same time, Bruce did not know, but it worked and he fessed up. 

“I had a bad experience the other night...at a party.” Bruce squinted in his trademark distressed look and noticed Natasha’s eyebrow cocked up in surprise. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” For someone so fierce, Natasha was extremely caring and Bruce knew he really shouldn’t keep it so bottled up, so he let out a mess of word vomit in order to express the disaster as quickly as possible. Maybe the pain wouldn’t be so bad that way, like ripping off a bandaid. 

“The music was too loud, it smelled really bad, I hated all the people. Thor Odinson ran into me and spilled beer all over my chest. He kept touching me and everyone stopped talking and watched us and he rubbed a towel on my chest and then he tried to take my shirt off and I left.” 

“He tried to take your shirt off?” Was that all Natasha had to say about this.

“Yes, to get me a clean one, presumably.” Bruce looked her dead in the eyes and she...smirked at him.

“Odinson’s pretty hot, huh?” She spoke as if she knew something Bruce didn’t and it made him angry.

“Seriously, Nat? I’ve been freaking out over this complete and utter humiliation and all you care about are his incredible biceps?” Woah, where did that come from? 

“Oh, you’re so dramatic. I’m sure anyone else would love to have that hunk’s arms caressing their chest...Wait a minute, I didn’t say anything about his biceps.” As a red warmth creeped up from Bruce’s chest towards his neck, a low sound blared over the intercom. Saved by the bell. As he slung his backpack across his shoulders and briskly walked out of the room, Bruce knew he wouldn’t be able to avoid Nat for long. God, why was he feeling so weird?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! this slow burn is turning out to be a really slow burn so anticipate a lot more chapters coming your way. please leave comments with any thoughts and suggestions you may have, i really appreciate them! <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thor at football practice ft. an important friend

Thor sprinted across the muddy field with an intense determination. Rain poured down from the grey skies, invigorating and motivating him towards the finish. Lost in the moment, Thor hadn’t noticed his teammate gaining on him, who passed him at the last possible second to reach the in-zone first. The boy turned around and gave him a cheeky smile. 

“And you said I couldn’t possibly be faster than you. Well, who’s laughing now Odinson!” Thor gave him a small smile, he was a good sport. But he really had needed a win today. 

“Good game, my friend.” Thor replied and the boy stuck out his hand good-naturedly. Steve had always had the best manners of the bunch. 

“Ah, you know I’m only messin’ with ya. You’re a valuable part of this team.” Thor had always appreciated Rogers as a team member and more recently, a friend. Steve worked hard as captain to ensure everyone felt they were important and talented, even if they didn’t believe it themselves. He had noticed Thor’s potential early on and offered to help him gear up for this year’s season over the summer. Thor was dumbfounded by his generosity, giving up his time and energy asking for nothing in return and in the summer no less. But that’s who Rogers was. Through these many sessions, Thor and Steve became great friends. They were very different people, but this only made their relationship more interesting. Rogers was the definition of an old soul and had led Thor on many humorous adventures, his favorite being bingo night at the senior center where Steve volunteered. Thor had assumed Steve would be working and brought him along for company, but Steve just thought it would be fun. Thor and Steve defined fun in two extremely contrasting ways. The night actually did end up being very amusing, as all the old women fawned over Steve. He even won, earning him a $5 Starbucks gift card, something Rogers was way too excited and proud of. 

Just then, thunder cracked overhead and a shot of lightning streaked across the sky which brought a smile to Thor’s face. Storms had always provided him a sense of comfort when he was younger, but with age turned into an adventurous instinct. Now, whenever he saw the first signs of a storm, Thor had the crazy urge to chase it. Thunder had a chaotic beauty that he yearned for. 

“We should probably get out of here. I gotta get clean for my date tonight.” Steve grinned like a little kid at the thought and Thor couldn’t help but laugh a little. Steve and Bucky had been dating for months now, but they still acted as if their relationship was brand new. Thor supposed that since they had been best friends since childhood, taking their relationship to a new level after all that time was a big change and warranted a little giddiness. He had to admit they were a sweet couple and perfectly balanced each other out between Steve’s kind, childlike nature and Bucky’s quiet, mysterious demeanor. From what he could tell, this relationship was really great for both of them. Bucky had started coming out of his shell a little more and always seemed so happy when he and Steve were together. Steve was always a ray of sunshine, but now he shone like a star. They both completely understood each other and appreciated each other’s oddities and quirks. Thor couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.   
Looking from the outside, Thor had it all. He was a star football player, built like a God, and beloved by the school. He had lots of friends and a positive attitude. On the inside, things were a little different. Family had always been so important to him, but what was once near perfect was now fractured and every one of Thor’s efforts to mend them only made matters worse. All of his so called “friends” would laugh away any mention of emotion. Most of the football players felt as if they had to uphold the extreme manliness that the position of an athlete meant. Thor thought this was so stupid, but Steve was the only team member who agreed with him. He learned this the hard way when he drunkenly told all of his teammates that he cried at Wicked. 

Steve felt Thor grow tense behind his tight smile and attempted to lighten the mood. “Hey, if you ever want me to set you up with someone, let me know. Gladys from bingo told me she thinks you’re the bee’s knees.” Thor let out a hearty laugh and that which Steve gladly returned. Nothing gave him more joy than making others happy. 

As his laughter died away, Thor began to think seriously about this offer. So many girls expressed interest in him, many he barely knew and it was flattering, sure, but it also made him feel empty. He didn’t care for any of them, because they didn’t really care for him. These girls treated him as an object, the sexy athlete, and didn’t see him for who he truly was. Thor desperately needed a person with whom he could pour out all of his feelings, an intimacy unknown to him. 

Steve started walking away from the field and started saying goodbye to Thor, but he cut him off. 

“Do you know anything about the boy from my party? The one I spilt beer on?” Thor had no idea where that had come from. He had been thinking a lot about the incident and specifically the stranger he hurt, but didn’t know why it had jumped into his mind now. 

Steve cocked his head to one side curiously. “Bruce? Not too much. I had calc with him last semester. He’s pretty quiet. Why?” 

Thor did not know why. Why did he ask about this boy, Bruce as he turned out to be. He formulated an answer as quick as he could, but his thoughts were churning slowly as if they were in molasses, and his mind was stuck on the image of the surprised look on the boy’s face. And his shock when Thor touched him. And his fearful anger as Thor reached for his shirt. 

“I-uh...wanted to apologize. I didn’t really get the chance and he seemed pretty shaken up.” Thor was proud of his reasoning. Yes, that’s why he was thinking of the boy so much. He felt the need to apologize, of course. 

“I know he and Nat are friends. I can get you his number from her if you want.” Steve gave Thor a knowing smile, which was met by confusion on Thor’s part. 

“That would be wonderful, thank you my friend. Tell Bucky I said hi.” Steve nodded and walked away, leaving Thor alone in the middle of the field, staring up into the gloomy skies. Yes, he would apologize and the image of Bruce ever constant in his mind would finally disappear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thor's thinking about bruce too? who would've thought?! i hope y'all enjoyed this, lmk what you thought in the comments :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nat makes plans with bruce.

Bruce hadn’t been able to shake off the weird feeling he’d had ever since he left the party, which presented itself at the worst during the late hours of the night. Once the sun went down and the lights were dimmed, Bruce was trapped with his thoughts in a dark cocoon of bedsheets, clutching Chip in his shaky arms. Haunted images flashed through his mind and he relived the events of the party. Oddly enough, though the feeling resembled his usual anxiety, there was a hint of something else beneath all that. Sometimes, a pleasant, warm feeling would emerge when certain images crawled through his brain. He could deal with anxiety, it was a given he’d been dealing with for years, but this new feeling, he didn’t like it. Yes, it felt nice, but when Bruce thought about what this feeling might mean, his anxiety came rushing back in a crushing wave. Ever since Nat called him out the other day, he’d had a hard time repressing this feeling. He did his best to distract himself during the day, between school, chemistry club, homework, and practicing cello, Bruce was completely occupied until the evening. Then he couldn’t escape himself. 

Natasha had noticed Bruce shying away more often than usual and knew it had to do with her comment about Thor. It was simply her nature to be straightforward and honest, but she should’ve known Bruce wouldn’t respond well to her romantic implications. That being said, she thought maybe this could be good for him. He didn’t even have to date the guy, but just having a crush would be enough. She knew Bruce was gay, but she wasn’t sure if he really knew himself. Of course, he had to know it in his heart, but she was afraid it was something he refused to admit, even to himself. She normally wouldn’t get involved in this type of thing, but Bruce desperately needed her help and it pained her to see anyone not being true to themselves. Besides, she felt like she owed him, he really had been a great friend to her. As she racked her brain for a discreet way to push Bruce into accepting his own feelings, her phone buzzed and she instinctively reached for it. She narrowed her eyes at the notification: a text from an unknown number. She reasoned that she should probably delete the text without even looking at it, as it was most likely a dick pic. Still, she opened the message just in case it wasn’t. Happily, she recognized words on her screen and the absence of unwanted junk. Her eyes widened as she quickly scanned the message. Once she finished, she threw her phone down onto her bed and laughed triumphantly. Everything was coming together beautifully. 

Wanda Maximoff was one of Natasha’s favorite people. She was always unapologetically herself and didn’t give a single fuck what people thought of her. Natasha didn’t know where this confidence came from, but figured it had something to do with the destruction of her hometown and her prompt shipping to America where she realized her newfound freedom was not as expected. In a candid moment, Wanda had once told Natasha she fought so hard for others because she had nothing more to lose and they did. She led countless protests, ranging from female reproductive rights to teacher pay. Natasha adored her fighting spirit, but also her soft innocence. When Wanda let herself relax, she was just as sweet and caring, but on a more personal level. Natasha normally had a hard time getting along with other girls, but Wanda was different. For the longest time Natasha had wanted a tight-knit group of girl friends, but quickly found that Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants kind of friendships don’t exist. At least not in high school. The one time Natasha had thought she had finally found a nice group of girls, she caught them talking about her “stripper clothes” behind her back, saying that she was “desperate for the attention”. She knew they were just jealous of the way men practically salivated of her, but that was nothing to be envious of. She hated their stares and leers, she wasn’t a fucking object. No one seemed to understand it though, one girl even claimed she was being ungrateful. Wanda wasn’t like other girls though, she didn’t seem to care about what other people did, as long as their decisions made them happy and didn’t hurt others. Wanda was strong and soft, something Natasha could relate to and which drew them closer together. 

Nat did not know whether Wanda would help or hurt her quest to help Bruce discover himself because she couldn’t betray Bruce’s trust and share her thoughts about his feelings. No, she’d have to devise this plan by herself. But maybe if Wanda tagged along, she would figure it out herself. That way, Natasha wouldn’t have to tell her, but she’d know. Anyways, she wasn’t sure if she and Bruce had met and thought they could be good friends. She picked up her phone and sent a text to Wanda which read, “How do you feel about athletics getting all the funding at our school while us poor arts kids are suffering with ancient equipment?” Of course she knew the answer. This was an issue Wanda was particularly fond of, actually having personal investment in the topic. Wanda was a true artist and Nat knew it was her true passion, but she didn’t have the money for supplies. She could only express herself creatively for an hour every other day in art class. If this program was ever threatened to being cut, it was by athletics, which infuriated Wanda to no end. She almost instantly received a text back from her friend, including a short rant about how anyone deemed throwing a ball around more important and worthy of funding than creating beautiful music/art and expressing one’s self. “You know the homecoming game is this Friday? Might be fun to go ironically. Do you know Bruce Banner? I was going to ask if he wanted to go.” Nat knew inviting Wanda may not be the best idea, as she was going to be talking shit about sports the whole time, specifically the school football team, which Thor played on. Oh well, it’d be more fun this way anyways. Wanda texted her that she was in and said she “knows of Bruce though we have never met, but I look forward to it!” Natasha couldn’t wait for Friday. 

Bruce didn’t want to go to watch football. That being said, he wanted to not be confined to his dark thoughts once the sun set and he wanted to spend time with Natasha. He also, as always, had curiosity as a driving force in everything he did, and tonight was no exception. Nat mentioned her friend Wanda would be joining them and from what Bruce had seen of her, she seemed like an incredibly interesting person. She seemed to wear her heart on her sleeve and always spoke her mind. Bruce remembered one day where she stood on top of a cafeteria table in her scuffed, black as night combat boots waving a greasy burger in her hands, yelling about the meat industry and the barely edible quality of food the school served. He wanted an excuse to talk to her because he had to know how she was so fearless. Secretly, he hoped she would teach him, as ridiculous as it sounded. His curiosity was also tinged with the confusing warm feeling he’d been experiencing as of late and though his head tried to steer him away, wanting to prolong the warmth, for even just a little bit, won out. God, he was going to regret this, wasn’t he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooh the football game is coming! chapters are going to get longer after this :) please comment and let me know what you think!! <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bruce attends thor's football game with nat and wanda.

Thor stood in the locker room, repeating motivational mantras to himself. Tonight was the homecoming game and he could not screw it up. The turnout was amazing, it seemed like the whole town had showed up to watch what should be an easy victory for the Avengers. The football team had always been good, but with the addition of Thor and Bucky this past year, they became a force to be reckoned with. With Steve as their captain, powerful players, and a home field advantage, they were guaranteed to win. Then why was Thor so nervous? Maybe it was because this was the biggest game he’d ever played and he couldn’t let the team down. Maybe it was all of the eyes on him. Maybe it was because it was the first game his father decided to attend. 

Thor and his father had a rather rocky relationship. Ever since his mother left, his family had been slowly but surely become more and more fractured. His father’s expectations became nearly impossible for Thor to uphold, though he still tried with all his might. Loki had taken the opposite approach and had completely given up, retreating into his bedroom the second he arrived home, rarely exiting until the next morning. Thor was determined and wanted his family to be close again more than anything, it was what his mother would have wanted. But he couldn’t help but lose a little hope with each passing day. But, his father was here tonight. He would make him proud. 

As Thor ran onto the field, he was instantly fueled by the roaring cheers of everyone in the stands, compelling him to smile and wave upwards, flashing a model-worthy smile. He could do this. He had to do this. He met the eyes of Bucky who gave him a serious nod, and Steve, who gave him an encouraging thumbs up. Thor glanced up into the stands, looking for his father, but instead finding the brown curly head of a boy that brought a pang to his chest. Bruce sat in between Natasha and a girl he vaguely recognized, talking animatedly to them. Thor was stuck. As if Bruce knew Thor’s gaze was fixed upon him, he turned towards the field and glanced downwards, to where Thor was standing, now alone in the middle of the field. Bruce’s eyes seemed worried and were darting back and forth between Thor and the sidelines, who finally looked over to realize he had stopped running and it wasn’t only Bruce who was looking at him quizzically. Embarrassed and admittedly off his game, Thor jogged towards his teammates. 

~ 

The first half of the game went by in a rush of nervous excitement. Before Thor could believe it, it was halftime. As the marching band emerged, Thor knew it was his cue to go back inside with his teammates, but he was drawn to the sidelines. He knew these incredibly talented musicians worked so hard on their halftime show, so the least he could do is watch. Steve turned and gave him a quizzical look which Thor met with a small wave and shake of the head. As he took a seat on the bench facing the field he heard a strong, female voice talking behind him. 

“It’s not fair that the football players are treated like royalty while these people who are literally creating art for us are considered ‘losers’ and have no funding!” 

Thor resisted the urge to turn around and say something, but his resistance soon faded as a soft but low voice joined the conversation. 

“It’s even worse for the orchestra kids. No one comes to our concerts because no one knows we exist. At the least the band kids get this as publicity. I do agree though, it sucks for all kids in the arts.” 

The voice Thor couldn’t stop thinking about belonged to Bruce Banner. He was here and Thor couldn’t believe it. Despite his negative comment, Thor was happy that he had even come. He wondered if he was here to see him? No, that was ridiculous! And he still needed to apologize anyways. He texted Natasha, whose number he had obtained from a confused Steve, and asked for Bruce’s number, plain and simple. He knew they were friends and knew she would probably give him what he wanted without question. She was a very straightforward type and didn’t seem to care about others business, unlike many of the girls who fawned over him. 

He had been on one unsuccessful date in the past year, in which the seemingly nice, cute girl spent the whole dinner bitching about her own friends! She told Thor all kinds of things he didn’t want to hear, Emma was a slut, Jen was anorexic but still looked fat, Anna was secretly smart but purposefully failed her classes so her boyfriend wouldn’t get mad because she was smarter than him. Thor didn’t understand why she would say so many rude things about her friends, they were her friends! Friends are there for you and are supposed to keep your secrets, not tell them to a random guy on your first date with him. Needless to say, there wasn’t a second date. 

Natasha had given Thor Bruce’s number, followed by an out of place winky face. He had yet to text the boy and he didn’t know why. What would he even say? “Sorry I spilled beer on you at my party :(“. No, that seemed like an incredibly weak apology due to the distress he had caused Bruce. His guilt had consumed him so much lately the other boy’s face constantly graced his mind, with his brown curls and large eyes. Thor was so used to this image in his brain, it was odd to actually see him in person. He never saw him around school, even though he’d been keeping an eye out for the boy ever since the party. Thor continued to listen to Bruce and the girl’s conversation, eventually ignoring the words spoken and focusing on the quiet lullaby of Bruce’s voice. He felt as if he’d never heard anything so peaceful and wanted so desperately to turn around and convey his apology to Bruce. He was so curious, what had he done to set him off? Bruce’s hurt expression resurfaced to Thor’s memory, making him wince. Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the end of the performance and return of his teammates to the field. Thor was in another world. A world where he approached Bruce, apologized for what happened and they became...friends. Yes, of course, Thor wanted to be friends with Bruce. That’s why the boy constantly graced his mind. He was curious about this odd brainiac and wanted to be his friend. That was the only thing that made sense. 

“What the fuck is he doing?” The artsy girl’s stage whisper brought Thor back to reality. He glanced at the field and couldn’t stop himself from whipping around to see Bruce before resuming the game. His eyes met the tired gaze on the soft face of Bruce Banner. When their eyes locked, Bruce’s expression shifted from surprised to nervous, but there was a flicker of something in between Thor didn’t quite catch. A small smile had graced his face and his eyes seemed to brighten before they widened in fear, which Thor realized was due to everyone looking at them. For the briefest moment though, Bruce looked excited to see him and that was all Thor needed to get him out on that field and win the game. 

Win he did. Thor once again brought the team to victory, alongside the incredible talents of Steve and Bucky. Thor was lost in the sound of cheers and a large huddle of people jumping and running around the field. He would never get tired of this feeling. He felt like he was on top of the world and it was all because of the hard work he put in, which now had paid off. He was soon encircled by his team, receiving booming claps on the back and shouts of revelry. He could smell the metallic scent of sweat all around him, proof of their hard work. He could feel the harsh lights beating down on the field, the team’s spotlight. His senses were being overloaded and he loved it. Everything he could see, feel, and hear was joyous and triumphant. 

“Party at my place!” Korg yelled to the team and cheering ensued. The pack began to walk off the field, with Korg leading them to his house, which was within walking distance of the school, a haven of shitty alcohol and sort of shitty dance music. Thor remained on the field, smiling at the hollering group of boys. 

Steve and Bucky remained in liplock on the sidelines, a position they’d been in since the clock ran out, signaling the end of the game and an Avengers victory. Around them was about an equal mix of cheering and boos. Steve couldn’t care less anymore, but Thor could tell Bucky was still a little insecure about his sexuality, especially in terms of PDA. Over the course of their relationship though, Bucky had become a lot more comfortable, with himself and the rest of the team. Thor was happy to say he could now call Bucky his friend, and not just the boyfriend of his friend. Thor smiled at their happiness and affection and as if they could feel his eyes upon them, both turned in Thor’s direction. 

“See something you like?” Bucky laughed and wiggled his eyebrows at Thor. Thor knew he was joking but still laughed uncomfortably. Steve playfully pushed his boyfriend, which caught Bucky off guard and made him stumble backwards, causing them to both laugh. 

“Hey Thor, Buck and I were going to grab something to eat, wanna join?” Steve flashed Thor a winning grin and although his invitation was welcoming and genuine, Thor couldn’t help but snort and say no all too quickly. He’d made the mistake of hanging out with the couple after a victory before, which ended with Steve and Bucky making out on the couch and Thor eating cereal in Steve’s kitchen. He knew neither of them meant for him to third-wheel so hard, it was just something about a victory that made them want to be all over each other. Thor felt exceptionally lonely that night and imagined having someone of his own to celebrate with. 

“No! I mean, uh, my dad and Loki came to watch tonight, remember? We’re going out to eat to celebrate.” Thor smiled, appreciative for having his family here to celebrate with him tonight. He made his goodbyes and looked around the field for Bruce...wait, no. He was looking for his father and Loki. Thor wondered if Bruce cheered for him. He scanned the almost empty bleachers searching for them. Did Bruce think Thor played a good game? Finally, Thor made out the distant figures of Loki and Odin all the way in the parking lot. He headed towards them, trying to shake all thoughts of Bruce from his mind. What did it matter what he thought? Even if they were friends he wouldn’t care so much about what they thought, why did it matter with this boy? 

“Hello! Did you enjoy the game?” Thor excitedly inquired as he got closer to the car where his family was waiting. 

“It was really long. Quite boring.” Loki yawned. Thor didn’t expect much from him, but couldn’t he at least act excited for his brother. Oh well, at least he showed up. It was Odin’s approval he sought. 

“Father?” Thor couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off his face, but Odin’s comment sure did. 

“Get in the car. I have work tomorrow.” 

Thor crumbled and Loki noticed his crestfallen expression. Taking pity on his brother he leaned in and whispered something that brought tears to Thor’s eyes. 

“Mother would have been proud.” Thor wrapped his monstrously large arms around Loki, nearly suffocating him. He shot Thor a sneer but his heart wasn’t really in it. He knew how hard his brother had been trying to salvage this family, he had to at least work with him a little. 

~

Thor went to bed that night reliving childhood memories, reminiscing of when his family was truly a family. Sure, they fought, but everything always seemed to turn out okay. It was taking all his emotional energy to try and reconcile with his father and he couldn’t bare it anymore. Odin had hurt Thor and Loki too much. He now knew that he and Loki were all each other had and was glad that his brother was more sympathetic than he had thought. Maybe they were a family.

Thor reimagined all the events of the game, taking in the cheers, Bruce’s soothing voice, the feeling of his feet pounding against the grass, Bruce’s soft expression...Bruce. All he could really think about was Bruce and what Bruce thought about him. Thor’s mind unwillingly wandered further into Bruce, and the image of Steve and Bucky’s victory kiss morphed into Bruce and Thor...and it felt good. 

Oh. 

Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thor has feelings for bruce?! who would've known?
> 
> wow it's been a while! sorry for the lack of updates, i've been hella busy! but now the story is starting to get interesting ;) i hope you all are enjoying. pls leave comments and let me know what you think, they encourage me to write more <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thor and bruce "celebrate" the holidays.

Christmas at the Odinsons was not a joyous occasion. Though the house was decorated lavishly, thanks to Thor of course, the jovial spirit was nowhere to be found. Thor had slightly given up on his father after the homecoming game, but knew he had to at least try for Christmas. It’s what his mother would have wanted. 

He remembered Christmas past, where he and Loki would chase each other down the stairs and rip into their gifts, arguing over sharing toys. Their mother always made an amazing feast for breakfast, highlighting dishes from the family’s Norwegian origin. Thor knew even as a child his family was fractured; his father had always been a difficult man, Loki was...well, Loki, and his mother was sweet but couldn’t control her husband. Despite this, Christmas was always cheerful. One day a year, the Odinsons would put aside their trouble-seeking nature and enjoy a day full of contentment, full bellies, and to an extent, love. 

This Christmas was their second Christmas without their mother, the glue who held their family together, and it was shaping up to be even worse than the last. The previous Christmas, Thor and Loki spent Christmas with their uncle and younger cousins. Odin did not join them, choosing to wallow in grief, but that was probably for the best. Thor had enjoyed seeing his younger cousins delight at their presents and played with them all day. He couldn’t speak for Loki, but he seemed less miserable than usual. 

Now, it was just Loki, Thor, and Odin together. Thor and Loki had been out of school for a week, which was pure torture. They had nothing to do but watch TV or in Loki’s case, read books. Odin had no desire to leave the house and didn’t trust Thor to drive out in the snow. In his utter boredom, Thor lazed around all day on the couch and daydreamed. He imagined different scenarios with Bruce, all ending in a kiss and a pledge to be boyfriends. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t stop. It was as if all his suppressed gay energy has latched onto this mysterious boy and wouldn’t let go, no matter how little chance they ever had of getting together. 

Thor had always liked girls, having his first kiss at the ripe age of nine, but in the past few years developed feelings for boys as well. It had surprised him a little bit, the first time he mentally undressed a man at a baseball game with his family (those tight pants should be illegal), but he soon came to accept it. He knew he didn’t really fit the bill of what everyone expected a boy who likes boys to be; Thor was a jock, no way around it. He hated being pigeonholed into that stereotype, though, because if anyone took the chance to get to know him, they’d find so much more. Thor was actually really smart and cared about school. His heinous biology teacher had actually accused him of cheating on a test he received an A on because in her experience, “all athletes are C minus students.” A lot of his fellow teammates, like Steve and Bucky, didn’t fit the jock stereotype either, though he had to admit most of his team did. Most were not necessarily stupid, but didn’t try in school, arrogant, borderline alcoholics who were prime examples of toxic masculinity. 

“What are you thinking about?” Loki whispered, standing over Thor whose thoughts of taking Bruce to a trampoline park were interrupted.

“Huh?” Thor responded stupidly. He hadn’t heard what Loki had said, deep in thought. 

“What has kept you here for...two and a half hours staring at the stain on the carpet?” Loki had checked his watch to be precise. 

Thor had no idea he had been there that long. How was that possible? He really needed to snap out of this, but seeing as there was nothing else to do for the time being, he might as well indulge. He continued to stare at Loki with glazed eyes, trying to think of a probable explanation.

Loki seemed to think and his playful smirk turned into a scowl at his realization. “Is it a girl?” He snarled, as if disgusted by the thought.

Thor quickly shook his head at question. No, definitely not a girl. Loki resumed his nosiness, looking deep into his brother’s face for some sort of tell. After a minute of Thor’s eyes darting back and forth, feeling as if Loki was reading his intimate thoughts, his brother snapped his fingers.

“Is it a boy?” Loki gasped. His smirk was back at full force and there was a mischievous glint in his eye. Thor’s eyes widened as his father snored on the couch. “He can’t hear you. Trust me.” Loki seemed far too confident about this.

“How would you know?” Thor’s eyes narrowed at his brother.

“I may or may not have slipped some heavy sleeping pills into his tea.” Loki was not ashamed of this at all, on the contrary, he seemed giddy.

“Why on Earth would you do that?” Why was his brother like this?  
“He’s a bummer. And he needs some sleep.” Loki shrugged. 

Thor sighed, but knew that Odin did need to sleep, so he decided not to argue the fact any further.

“So, who’s the boy?” Thor knew he couldn’t even try and lie. This was Loki’s superpower; he could see right through anything that wasn’t the complete truth. 

Thor sighed in submission. Who else could he tell anyways? He knew he would probably regret this, but at this point he didn’t even really care. 

“Not here.” Thor replied as he led a bouncing Loki upstairs.

~

Bruce lit the first candle of the menorah by himself. His father had been gone for over a week, which was relieving at first, but soon became extremely worrying. There had been radio silence from Dr. Banner and Bruce knew he couldn’t live like this much longer. Food had begun to run low and Bruce had repeatedly searched the house for any money to go to the grocery store, but had come up with only twenty one dollars. He was beginning to really freak out. Had his father finally cracked and left for good? Bruce was not yet eighteen, so he wasn’t supposed to be living alone and he did not want to. He didn’t trust himself. 

It was currently winter break, so he didn’t have school as a welcome distraction. He missed his friends. He’d been spending a lot more time at Tony’s house, with Natasha sometimes joining them, to avoid his loneliness. They never said anything about his increasing presence, almost everyday after school, but he noticed his friends exchange of concerned looks. 

He hadn’t seen any of them though since after the homecoming football game right before break started. Natasha and Wanda had planned on getting dinner at the local pizza joint afterwards and invited Bruce, who was happy to not go home yet. He invited Tony, who lived only a few blocks away from the restaurant and hadn’t attended the game in favor of taking a nap. Once Tony arrived a few minutes after the group had grabbed a table, Nat and Wanda began to animatedly fill him in on the events of the game. Bruce listened, mulling through all that had happened himself, sipping on a lemonade. He let his mind wander while Wanda resumed her arts deserve more funding spiel, as he certainly agreed but had already heard it. Bruce didn’t understand why Thor had stopped to look directly at him not once, but twice during the game. He also didn’t understand the warm feeling in his chest that remained throughout the entirety of the game. He didn’t understand--

“Bruce? Hellooo?” Nat waved her hand in front of Bruce’s face. His eyes snapped to attention and she smirked at Wanda and Tony, then brought her gaze back to Bruce.

“We were just talking about Thor. He seems pretty interested in you.” The entire group turned towards him with toothy grins and Bruce felt his entire body heat up, unlike the pleasant warm feeling he had felt earlier. He began to sputter and shake his head in disbelief, but mainly, fear. He couldn’t believe that. If he let himself think that Thor, the hunky golden boy, was even slightly interested in him...there would be no coming back from that. 

“You should’ve seen him at the party. He had his hands alll over Brucie.” Tony gestured, rubbing his hands across his own chest, causing the girls to laugh along with him.

“STOP!” Bruce yelled, causing everyone at the table, as well as everyone else around, to jump back. He knew they were just joking, but he couldn’t handle it. Nat and Wanda were stunned into silence, but Tony attempted to diffuse the situation. 

“Hey, Bruce, we’re sorry...didn’t mean to make you so upset. Just breathe. Drink some water. We won’t talk about it anymore.” Tony spoke quietly, so only those at the table could hear, and not the prying ears of their waitress. Bruce nodded and the pizza was brought out. Everyone dug in and pretended nothing had happened. 

Now, Bruce was left alone with his thoughts and did all he could to busy himself to avoid them. He wasn’t longing for that warm feeling he seemed to get whenever he saw Thor. He wasn’t thinking of the look Thor gave him before he finished (and won) the football game. He certainly wasn’t thinking of the glimmer of hope that he knew flashed across his face when they locked eyes. 

Bruce decided he couldn’t be alone right now. It was hanukkah, he was supposed to be celebrating. Or at least, not wallowing in his loneliness so that he imagined one of the popular people at school would even give him a second glance. So, he pulled out his phone and send a “What are you doing?” text to Tony, who quickly responded that he was home alone playing video games. 

Tony arrived at the front door of Bruce’s house fifteen minutes later. He knew something must be seriously wrong because since they had been friends, Bruce had never invited him inside the house. A weary Bruce opened the door to his friend and led Tony into the dark, empty house. 

“Where’s your dad?” Tony asked as he took in the mess in front of him. He opened the cabinet under the guise of wanting a snack and his fears were confirmed, it was nearly empty. 

He turned to his friend, who looked to be on the brink of tears. He looked utterly helpless as his lip began to quiver. 

“Bruce?” Tony asked softly. His friend responded with a slight nod and brief eye contact before glancing at his slippers. 

“Tell me everything.” 

Bruce trusted Tony and knew he had to tell his friend what’s been going on. He guided him to the dining room, where they sat in front of the menorah. Bruce took a deep breath and began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> loki knows! bruce opened up to tony! yay! 
> 
> i've been writing a lot more of this so expect more frequent updates :) thank you for reading and please leave a comment letting me know what you think, they always make my day and encourage me to write more <3


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bruce and thor go back to school after the holidays.

Thor and Loki were beyond ready for the spring semester to start. Christmas was not the glorious time it should have been and they were both itching to get out of the house. Loki was normally content to be in his room reading most of the day, but after two weeks of that even he was starting to lose his mind. One thing certainly did make the break interesting though, and that was Thor’s crush. Loki was surprised when Thor had opened up to him, especially since he hadn’t been entirely sure his brother was interested in men, much less the brainy Bruce. 

Generally, Loki liked to make life hard for his brother. He had everything; popularity, looks, real friends, talent, and for a while, a girlfriend. Before their mother died, everything about Thor’s life was perfect. Loki’s mission in life was to make sure something went wrong, lest his brother became too cocky. Though Thor mainly laughed off most of Loki’s pranks, he rightfully never trusted his sibling. 

Now, not at all due to Loki, Thor’s life was far from perfect. He still had “everything”, that is, except a family. They’d never been close before, but without mother, father had become a shell of a man and they only had each other to rely upon. Loki was a loner, but as much as he hated to admit it, he needed someone. When Thor led him up the stairs to reveal the boy that’s been on his mind, Loki knew this was his first test at being a decent brother. 

He felt as if he did an okay job, despite his immediate laughter when the name “Bruce Banner” escaped Thor’s lips. Really? That’s who his superstar athlete brother was crushing on? Loki supposed Thor did have a thing for smart ones, first Jane, aspiring astronomer, and now Bruce, who would probably in his lifetime earn no less than 7 Ph.D's. 

As their conversation went on, Thor revealed the events of the party and the football game. He wrung his hands nervously as he spoke, but there was a glint in his downcast eyes when he talked about Bruce. Loki asked if he ever talked to him, to which Thor insisted the incident at the party was talking to him. Loki couldn’t believe his brother, one of the most popular boys in school, who many girls would kill for a date with, is afraid to talk to a quiet nerd. 

Loki really didn’t know much about Bruce, even though he was excellent at observing people. All he had gathered was that Bruce was a shy, but extremely intelligent person who had few friends and mostly kept to himself. He knew him to be friends with Tony Stark, an exasperating boy Loki had shared a few classes with. 

He decided to make it his mission to observe Bruce more closely when school resumed and to encourage his brother to talk to the guy. If this didn’t work, well, Loki would have to take matters into his own hands.

~

Thor was pleasantly surprised at Loki’s attentiveness and understanding about Bruce. He didn’t expect Loki to care, much less give him relationship advice. It was refreshing to be able to talk with his brother, especially without Loki’s constant air of indifference. He genuinely seemed interested in this topic and wanted Thor to succeed. 

Thor knew he’d have to talk to Bruce for anything to actually happen, that much was obvious, but how would he even get the chance? It’s not like the two would have any classes together, Bruce was at a higher level than Thor, for sure. Not that Thor wasn’t intelligent, he was, but he was by no means a genius. Wouldn’t it be too desperate to try and seek Bruce outside of class? God, he was definitely overthinking this. He had Bruce’s number, and had for quite a while now, but if he was going for that approach he would have done it already. Thor much preferred to talk to someone in person anyways. 

He really didn’t want to think about this all too much though. Would it be great to get to know Bruce? Of course it would. Would it be wonderful to eventually confess his feelings? You bet. But Thor couldn’t get his hopes up. Bruce could be dating someone, he could be straight, he could just not feel the same way. The football season was over so Thor needed something new to completely dedicate himself to. School would be the obvious option, but he seemed to make it through his classes without an incredible amount of effort just fine, there was no reason to change that now. So Thor decided to take a chance. 

Over the break, Thor was looking through old photo albums and stumbled across an old photo of him and his mother. Thor seemed to be about ten years old and was dressed properly in a dark suit. His mother was absolutely stunning in her simple black dress and their smiling faces were massive towards the camera. In the background sat a large stage amidst a beautiful theater. This was the first musical Thor had ever seen and he remembered it as if it were yesterday. Seeing all the talented actors prancing across the stage in unbelievable costumes, singing their hearts out, telling a beautiful story through song and dance struck a chord with the young boy. He told his mother that was what he was going to do when he grew up.

Musical theater had been Thor’s secret passion for many years. He knew it wasn’t the macho activity his father would approve of, so soundtracks only played through earbuds and his few nights out to the theater were supposedly hanging out with the guys on the team. Thor had lately been carefully practicing his singing, after various voice lessons through YouTube. Now, he believed he was ready. The auditions for the school musical took place soon after classes started again, and Thor was going to participate.

He knew this could potentially ruin his super stud image, but he didn’t give a shit. He was tired of doing things simply to please others, especially his father. He realized after his father’s nonchalance at the homecoming victory that nothing could make that man happy. Nothing Thor could do would make Odin smile and express his pride for his son. He would never get his father’s approval, so what did it matter if he ventured off to something that gained his father’s disapproval? From now on, Thor was going to do what made him happy, not for anyone else’s sake but his own. 

~

Bruce awoke feeling completely disoriented. The ceiling was missing its glow in the dark stars, the walls were supposed to be green, not blue and his bed was certainly not this big! His breathing became shallower and the room began to spin slightly until a hazy figure lightly shook his shoulder. Bruce reached for the bedside table and felt around for his glasses. As he put them on, the blurry figure came into focus. Tony was looking at Bruce with a concerned look on his face, like every morning. 

Bruce had been staying at Tony’s house since soon after break started, for a little over a week now. Still, every morning he was hit with this wave of panic at the unfamiliar surroundings. Tony had learned to be there whenever Bruce woke up after an incident on the first morning. Tony had gone downstairs to make some toast while Bruce was still asleep and when he came upstairs to check on his friend, he found him huddled on the ground, shaking. 

Despite Tony’s insistence against the fact, Bruce felt like he was intruding. Tony was a good friend, he told Bruce over and over again that Christmas with his family was a sad affair anyways. His dad was always conducting business and his mother usually drank the day away. He said having Bruce there was nice. The holiday was more bearable. 

Tony didn’t bring up Bruce’s dad anymore after the first night. He knew he’d eventually have to tell his parents the truth and admit Bruce’s dad isn’t really out of town for business. He didn’t know how to handle the situation. He knew that Bruce wasn’t old enough to live on his own, not until he was eighteen, and he didn’t want his friend to be put in foster care. He hoped his parents would just let Bruce stay until they graduated the next year. He hoped Bruce would be more comfortable in Tony’s house. His friend’s daily panic attacks were scaring him. 

Bruce felt awkward in Tony’s house. He was reluctant to touch anything, everything seemed so expensive. He didn’t know how to spend his time. He and Tony would go out to eat or to the movies sometimes, but they didn’t talk all that much. Bruce wasn’t a fan of Tony’s violent video games, preferring to read a book while Tony killed digital Nazi soldiers. 

School was getting close to starting again and Bruce couldn’t be happier. He was, of course, worried as well. After his explosion at Nat and Wanda’s teasing at the restaurant, he was reluctant to see his friend again, as much as he missed her. Bruce didn’t like getting angry and it was an emotion he had never expressed towards Natasha. He hoped she would still talk to him. Bruce didn’t have many friends, he needed to keep the ones he did have. 

He was also thinking about seeing Thor again. After the football game, Bruce couldn’t get the boy out of his head (not like he could before, really). Why had Thor kept looking at him? But, God, the feeling when he did. It had felt like it was only the two of them in that entire stadium not just looking at each other, but seeing each other, really seeing each other. 

This of course, was a major problem. Thor was not even an option for Bruce, but no one was. Bruce couldn’t be with anyone. He was already so much to deal with as a friend, he couldn’t imagine bringing all his issues into a romantic relationship. He couldn’t do that to someone else, it wasn’t fair. 

~

Thor woke up to an annoyed clearing of the throat. He opened his groggy eyes to harsh fluorescent lights and the outline of an uptight looking figure. He turned and saw the faces of people trying to contain their laughter. 

“Good morning, Mr. Odinson. Didn’t get enough sleep during Christmas vacation?” The smug face smirked downwards. Normally, Thor would call him out for saying Christmas vacation rather than the district mandated “holiday break” that served to include all students, but he sensed now was not the time if he wanted to avoid detention. 

The homeroom teacher shoved a schedule in front of Thor, who took it out gingerly. The man looked at Thor expectantly, but he was already engrossed in seeing where his classes would lead him today. He had Mrs. Parker for English, good, he heard she was easy. History with Adams might be rough, but he’d be fine. Everything seemed to be fine…wait a minute. 

~ 

Bruce arrived to his first class of the day fifteen minutes early, on the dot. He tried to always do this on the first day of a new semester in order to guarantee the best spot. He normally chose a back corner to hide in, except for his science classes. Bruce was a completely different person when it came to these classes, because he was so passionate about the work. His anxiety seemed to take a much needed rest during these classes and Bruce actively participated. He sat in the middle of the room and was the stereotypical who always raised his hand and seemingly kissed up the the teacher. He was never trying to be a teacher’s pet, he just connected with his teachers through their shared interest on the subject. 

Bruce’s leg was bouncing in excitement as he snagged the center table in the center row and began straightening his items on his desk. Soon, the room began to fill up but the chair next to him remained empty. That was fine with Bruce, he hoped there were enough tables that he wouldn’t have to share his space. The door closed as the bell rang and Dr. Pym stood up to address the class, much to Bruce’s excitement, but was soon interrupted by the door bursting open to reveal a winded, but still attractive, student. 

Bruce’s eyes widened in astonishment as he looked at the boy. It couldn’t be...but, here he was. Bruce’s heart began to race and a blush rose across his face. 

This couldn’t be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooh things are starting to heat up!!!
> 
> i hope you all enjoyed this chapter! leave a comment and lemme know what you think!!! <3


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bruce and thor endure the first day of advanced physics together.

Thor looked at his schedule again. Advanced Physics with Dr. Pym? That couldn’t be right. That class was supposed to be one of the hardest ones offered by the school. Thor wasn’t even a senior, it would be near impossible for him to get through it. Dr. Pym was a renowned hardass as well. How could he be in Advanced Physics if he hadn’t taken the intro class? Shouldn’t that not be allowed? It was ok, he assured himself, it was just a simple scheduling error. As long as he got it fixed by the end of the week, it would be fine and he’d be in...Honors Biology or something like that. 

“Excuse me?” Thor stood in front of his teacher’s desk and the man looked up expectantly. It seemed as if he was trying to think of a witty retort, but soon gave up and gave Thor an indifferent look. 

“There seems to be something wrong with my schedule, I shouldn’t be in this class, I haven’t even taken the intro…” Thor gestured to the words on the paper indicating what he was talking about, but the bell cut him off. He was soon stampeded by a large group of chattering kids rushing to the door. 

“It’s the first day, just go. It’s not like you’re going to do anything other than going over the syllabus. That’s not too advanced for you right?” The man attempted to usher Thor to the door, but he wouldn’t budge.

The teacher let out a dramatic sigh. “Go to your counselor over lunch break. I’m sure they’ll sort it out and you’ll be where you need to be in to time. For now, just sit in your scheduled class.” 

Thor had no idea where the physics building was, having no desire to take such a class, but he wasn’t going to ask his asshole of a teacher for directions. He figured it must be close to some of his previous science classes, so he headed in the direction of where he took his chemistry intro class the year before. 

He encircled the building, looking for some sort of sign of where he was supposed to be headed (the school really needed to do a better job at labeling). After a few minutes of wandering, Thor finally located the building...right as the bell rang. He rushed inside, looking for classroom 128. Thor knew it didn’t really matter if he was late, he wasn’t going to be in this class anyways, but it still bothered him. 

He burst into the room only about a minute late, slightly out of breath from running around campus. He immediately located the annoyed looking teacher in front of the room. Not even looking at his surely surprised classmates, Thor made his way over to the man. 

“Mr. Pym, I-” Thor began. 

“Dr. Pym.” The teacher curtly replied.

“My apologies, Dr. Pym, I believe there’s an error with my schedule. I shouldn’t be in your class I haven’t even taken the intro...” Thor spoke quickly, not wanting to take up any more of the frustrated teacher’s time. 

“Well, it’s possible there’s been a mistake. I’d suggest...” Dr. Pym’s voice melted away as Thor risked a glance towards the classroom. 

Among many confused faces, lay one of extreme shock. That face was one that had been stuck in Thor’s mind for weeks. That face was one he had imagined kissing and going roller skating with. That face belonged to Bruce Banner. 

Thor didn’t believe in coincidences. He knew that fate played a role in everything. This scheduling error turned out not to be an error at all, rather, it was the universe giving him a sign. Here he was, standing in front of a room he wasn’t technically supposed to be in and amidst the crowd of students was the one face Thor had been trying to find an excuse to seek out. What’s more, the only available seat left was right next to Bruce. Fate willed it so. 

Time seemed to move slowly whenever Bruce and Thor locked eyes. Just like at the football game, he looked at the boy for a little too long to be considered normal. Soon as he knew it, the confused gazes became more defined and Dr. Pym’s exasperated tone brought him back to reality.

“Are you listening to me?” Dr. Pym eyed Thor, who looked like a deer in headlights. 

“I...um...actually...this is fine.” Thor muttered, struggling to keep his eyes away from Bruce. 

“What?” Dr. Pym did not sound happy. 

“I mean...this class will be good, college credit...I can do it.” Thor tried to compose himself but he couldn’t even form a coherent sentence. He was going to be sitting next to the object of his affection for an entire semester. 

Thor made his way towards the middle of the room, followed by many interested eyes, but he didn’t care about any of them. Bruce looked...fearful. Thor began to wonder if maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe Bruce was afraid of him, maybe Bruce hated him. After all, their only interaction was Thor spilling beer all over him and while trying to make things better only worsened the situation, causing Bruce to leave. 

His smile faltered a bit as he got closer. There wasn’t any turning back now, this was the only seat available anyways. If anything, he could at least apologize to Bruce. Finally, he reached the shared table. What was he going to say?

“Can I, uh...sit here?” Oh god he was such an idiot. 

Bruce broke their gaze and nodded, gesturing to the chair.

This was going to be awkward. 

~

Bruce was freaking out. Thor was here? Thor was here. In Advanced Physics. In what world does that make any sense? Thor was a football player. He was friendly. He was good at many things, but Advanced Physics couldn’t be one of them. That was one of the only things Bruce was good at. Bruce Banner was bad at making friends and even worse at keeping them. Bruce Banner has no athletic ability whatsoever. But Bruce Banner was a scientific genius. That was just about the only thing he had going for him. 

Thor was monstrously huge. At least for a high schooler. He was tall and muscular and had wide-set shoulders. He barely fit in his chair. This meant Thor took up most of the table space and was much too close to Bruce. Bruce could feel the heat of their legs almost brushing up against each other. Thor’s bicep was in line with his cheek. 

Against his better judgement, Bruce snuck a glance in Thor’s direction. He looked...stiff. And his tanned face was...pink? Was Thor blushing? That seemed very out of character. Then again, Bruce didn’t really know anything about Thor. Bruce was an observer, which meant he overhead lots of gossip that he didn’t care about. None of it had been about Thor. All he ever heard about him was how great he was at football and how hot he was by just about every girl in the school. They weren’t wrong...

At that moment Bruce realized he hadn’t been listening to a word Dr. Pym had said. He wanted to pay attention. Physics was his favorite subject and this beef cake wasn’t going to ruin that. Bruce straightened his back and fixed his gaze towards the front of the room where Dr. Pym was reviewing the syllabus. 

Bruce was thankful he had been listening because afterwards Dr. Pym doled out a pop quiz, much to the chagrin of the students. Bruce only chuckled though, he knew Dr. Pym was that type of difficult teacher, but you only needed to worry if you weren’t paying attention. Bruce was always paying attention. 

~

Thor’s glazed expression came back into focus as he he jolted to reality through the collective groaning of his fellow classmates. He was very out of sorts and didn’t understand what was happening until a stack of papers was passed back to him. Bruce looked at him expectantly as Thor eyed the papers in his hand. 

Bruce held out his hand and Thor’s heart stopped briefly before he realized the boy was reaching for the papers, and not his own hand. Thor handed them over, trying to accidentally brush their fingers, but Bruce pulled the papers away quickly. He handed one back to Thor and passed the rest to the table next to them. 

Thor finally read the printed words in front of him: Pop Quiz. What? We haven’t even learned anything yet! 

“It’s on the syllabus.” Bruce muttered without looking up. 

Huh? Oh. He must have voiced his confusion out loud. Thor had no idea the words had slipped out of his mouth, which wasn’t good. Who knew what would come out with Bruce around?

“Could I, uh, borrow a pencil?” Thor asked Bruce. 

“Oh my god, it’s the first day of classes and he didn’t even bring a pencil? He definitely isn’t cut out for this class.” Bruce thought. 

Thor smiled pleadingly at Bruce with his perfect white teeth and the boy gave in, pulling an extra pencil out of his backpack. Thor made sure their fingers brushed this time. Even though it was only a fraction of a second, Thor felt warmth and electricity shocking him. He heard Bruce’s sharp intake of breath and was disheartened at his hasty removal of their hands. 

“Thank you.” Thor added quietly after a moment of uncomfortable silence. 

Bruce simply nodded and began the quiz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woah it's been a while friends! this fic has been slow going, but i have more chapters queued up after this and hopefully will finally finish it!! please leave me comments w/ your thoughts, i love love love to read them!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thor struggles with physics. bruce and nat have a chat.

Advanced Physics was going to be harder than Thor thought. It had only been a week and he had already spent hours struggling through homework and studying for their first test which was already coming up next week. Everything was going far too fast for Thor to get a grasp on anything they were learning and he was afraid of failing the class. It was too late to switch into another course so he had to figure something else, and fast. Damn this stupid crush!

Of course, Loki thought this was the perfect opportunity for Thor to talk to Bruce. 

“Thor, this is your chance! You know he’s smart, I’m sure he knows that you know and maybe he’d be willing to help you!” Loki was practically bouncing up and down. Thor still wasn’t used to seeing him this way, excited, about anything. He was like a little kid again. 

“You’ve lost me.” Thor replied. Through his exuberance, Loki’s words had spilled out of his mouth at a rapid pace Thor couldn’t follow. 

“Bruce can tutor you. Obviously, it’ll help raise your grade in the class, he’ll get something out of it too, he can use volunteering for his college application, and it’ll bring you two closer.” 

“I don’t know…” Things had been so awkward between Thor and Bruce. He’d stopped trying to force himself onto Bruce, obviously having made the boy uncomfortable whenever he “accidentally” grazed his elbow, or brushed fingertips. Thor could tell Bruce was anxious and felt like he had to give up. All Thor had ever done was hurt him, unintentionally, but still, he felt awful.

“Why not?” Thor had not told Loki this recent update and knew he had to explain, or else his brother would never stop asking. 

“I just don’t think we’re a good fit. I think Bruce is...scared of me.” Thor shivered at the thought. All he wanted to wrap his arms around Bruce in a warm embrace.

Loki opened his mouth like he was going to object, but then something in his face changed. “Fine. I’ll let it go.” He gave Thor his best poker face and walked away. God, he knew Loki was up to something, but had no idea what he could possibly do. Thor guessed he was just going to have to find out. 

~

Getting back to school was mostly an easy transition for Bruce...mostly. He was thrilled that Nat was happy to see him and didn’t seem angry in the slightest. She even greeted him with a hug, which was out of character for both of them and surprised Bruce, but not in the negative way that touch normally made him feel. 

Ever since his father had disappeared, Bruce could feel himself growing stronger and more sure of himself. Whenever someone would touch him before, he was sent to the brink of a panic attack, but now, he handled it like a normal person. The only exception to this was Thor. 

Surviving Advanced Physics, a class that Bruce should thrive in, but Thor was making that impossible. Every time Thor brushed up against him, which was often due to the boy’s hulking size, a wave of heat was sent through Bruce’s body. His heart beat faster when he was around him and he could barely breathe. Bruce had never been so anxious with another person. 

Despite this, Bruce was doing really well. Living with Tony had become less awkward, especially with school taking up most of the day. It gave the boys something to talk about and meant less time in the house. For the first time in a long time, Bruce felt like he genuinely belonged. 

“I missed you over break, sorry I didn’t text or call. We went to my grandparent’s who live in the middle of nowhere with no cell service.” Natasha mimed shooting herself in the head which earned a small chuckle from Bruce. 

“That’s ok, I’m actually surprised you’re talking to me at all…” Bruce trailed off. He knew he probably shouldn’t have mentioned it, since Nat was acting as if nothing had happened, but Bruce felt the need to apologize. 

“What? Why?” Nat seemed genuinely confused.

“I yelled at you...at the restaurant. I know you were just teasing me, but I..freaked out I guess. I’m really sorry, Nat.” Bruce had a hard time looking her in the eye. 

“Bruce, look at me. That wasn’t your fault. I pushed you, and I shouldn’t have. I know you don’t like me messing with you about...him.” 

Bruce had found recently that opening up to his friends had brought him great happiness, as telling Tony about his home life practically saved him. He knew he could trust Nat and he needed to somehow formulate the feelings he experienced around Thor. He had tried figuring it out on his own and had drawn a blank, so he knew he needed outside help.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about, uh, him. Can we hang out after school?” 

Nat smiled. Bruce was being very un-Bruce-like, first accepting her hug and now confessing his feelings? She liked it. “I have ballet practice, but I’m free after that. Wanna grab dinner?” 

“Could we maybe not go to a public place?” Bruce’s face had turned pink, but Natasha pretended not to notice. 

“Sure thing. My parents are going out tonight, you can come to my place. I’ll send you the address.”

“Thanks, Nat.” 

“For what?” 

“Being my friend.”

“As I recall, you reached out to me in the first place, so really, I should be thanking you.”

Bruce smiled. “You’re still a really great friend.”

“Thank you.” Nat returned his smile and squeezed Bruce’s hand. She couldn't wait for tonight. 

~

After school, Bruce walked back to Tony’s house alone. Tony had robotics after school and offered for Bruce to drive his car back and then pick him up later, but Bruce declined his offer. It was a cold January day, but the sun was shining and he could feel the heat on his face negating the effects of the brisk wind slicing through the air. 

As he walked, Bruce thought of how much his life had changed in a matter of weeks. He had been so withdrawn before, only grounded in reality from the few friends he had. Even then, Bruce rarely participated. He would spend time with his friends to avoid the house, but worry what his father would do to him when he got home. It was worth the pain he knew, because the pain would have come one way or another. His father always found an excuse to abuse his son.

It seemed that as Bruce’s physical wounds started to heal, so did his emotional scars. He didn’t have to live in fear of what he was going to home to anymore, he knew. Tony’s parents always greeted him by asking how school was when they were home, then left him to his own devices. Coming home to Bruce’s father was like a box of chocolates: You never knew which one you were going to get. There was Dr. Banner, who was focused and silent, barely noticing Bruce was even there. This was Bruce’s favorite version of his father. There was Mr. Banner, who was unhinged but benign. He believed Mrs. Banner was still alive and only “out”. He treated Bruce like he was a child and wanted to play catch with him in the yard. Worst of all was Brian Banner, who blamed Bruce for everything, most notably, the death of his wife. Brian beat Bruce relentlessly and shouted horrible insults at him. He made Bruce want to die. 

Now, Bruce didn’t have to worry about him anymore. If his father ever came back, Tony assured Bruce his parents would sic their top attorneys on him and lock him up for a very long time. Now, Bruce was free to be himself without judgement or pain. It was a nice change.

He had the house to himself as Tony’s parents were working and of course, Tony was at his club. Bruce decided to be productive as he wouldn’t have time to do homework tonight. He also did not want to think about his evening all that much, because he was scared. He wasn’t afraid of opening up to Natasha, no, he was afraid of what he would find when he did. Bruce didn’t want to unearth his feelings, but knew he had to. 

Bruce attempted his physics homework, but all he could think about was the distracted boy who sat next to him. Had Thor done this assignment yet? Probably not. How was he doing in the class? Did he find it interesting? He always seemed to be deep in thought, but Bruce suspected it had nothing to do with antimatter. 

Finally, it was time to meet Nat. Tony lent Bruce the car and he headed over early, allowing himself plenty of time in case he got lost, having never visited her house before. He arrived at the house a few minutes early and was surprised at the modesty of her house. He had always assumed Natasha’s family was loaded with money, due to her many extracurriculars and her fancy-looking clothes. Then again, most of her activities had to do with the school, therefore free, and he knew next to nothing about women’s clothes. Bruce pulled into the gravel driveway of the one-story house, thinking about his tendency to assume things about others. He tended to stereotype other people without a second thought, and for the first time, he realized that was wrong.

Nat opened the door unbelievably quickly, Bruce hadn’t even finished knocking, and pulled him inside. Her rushed air showed how excited she was to have this talk and it made Bruce just a little more nervous. She clearly had expectations about what he was going to say, yet Bruce himself had no idea. 

“I ordered pizza! Cheese and pepperoni, because I wasn’t sure which one you liked. Weird I don’t know that about you, huh?” Nat smiled and gestured to two boxes in the kitchen. 

“Thanks, Nat that’s sweet of you. And cheese, I prefer cheese.” Natasha led him to the living room and gestured to the couch, telling him she’d grab the pizza. 

Bruce had gotten more used to the lenient rules of other people’s houses, but he still had a hard time doing what he thought was breaking the rules. If he had ever left even one crumb in anywhere that wasn’t the kitchen, his father would have let him have it. That fear was still slightly instilled in Bruce, but he was getting better. 

Natasha quickly returned with the pizza on paper plates, shoving one in Bruce’s face and sitting cross legged on the couch facing him. 

“So how was your day?” She smiled expectantly. Bruce couldn’t take the pressure, he knew he had to talk now or else he’d lose his newfound courage. 

“Good, um, I need to get something on my chest. Honestly, I don’t even understand what it is. I have these weird feelings with this person and I can’t place what it is…” Bruce was already rambling and nervously looked up at his friend.

Nat’s smile faltered, but returned encouragingly. “It’s okay. I’ll help you figure out whatever it is. Tell me what’s up.” She spoke softly and it reminded Bruce of how his mother would talk to him whenever he woke up from having a nightmare. 

“Ok. Where do I start...the party. I, uh, had a run in with Thor. Odinson. You know, the football player?” Natasha nodded, wanting him to continue. 

“So. He spilled beer on me, by accident of course, and I was already upset by the whole environment. I have really bad anxiety. I don’t know if you knew that...anyways so the beer was spilt and I was surprised and shocked into not really being able to move, I would have left right there if I could, but my brain hadn’t yet processed everything. So to make things worse, Thor gets a towel to try and clean it, starts rubbing it on my shirt and tries to pull my shirt off and his touch burned and then I left and couldn’t shake off that hot feeling in my chest even after multiple showers. I can’t get him out of my mind and I really hate it. He kept looking at me during the football game and my heartbeat was irregular and I felt that warm feeling again and it was, it was, um...um…”

“What was it Bruce?” Natasha’s voice was barely a whisper, her smile had faded and she looked concerned. 

“It was...good. It felt nice. I liked the warmth. I thought I was just anxious around him, but anxiety has never felt even close to uh, pleasurable…” Bruce paused. His mind was going a mile a minutes. These feelings, these experiences, they were starting to come together. Bruce didn’t like the direction in which things were headed. He knew he had to keep going though, he’d rather feel emotions he was afraid of than live in denial.

“I feel that warmth a lot now. He sits next to me in Advanced Physics and he’s so big our skin brushes together a lot and I can barely breathe, but in a good way. My heart beats really fast and it feels...full somehow. When he looks at me I feel like he’s looking into my soul. I’m so afraid but it’s all so...satisfying. I want that feeling all the time. I want to be around him. I want to get to know him. I want…I want…” Bruce’s breath hitched. The truth. He knew it now and if he kept talking, he wouldn’t be the only one. It would be out in the open and there would be denying it anymore. Bruce would have to be unapologetically himself, and as freeing as that sounded, it was scary too. 

“You want…” Bruce hadn’t noticed the change in Natasha’s face. She was giving him a knowing expression that was full of joy for her friend. 

Bruce took a deep breath. 

“Him. I want him. I want Thor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay for bruce admitting his feelings!! now i'm finally back to biweekly updates so expect another chapter soon :) pls pls pls let me know what you thought about this chapter in the comments! <3


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bruce and thor fumble through conversation in class. an idea is proposed by an unlikely friend.

The auditions for the musical were fast approaching and Thor, who was normally so self-assured, was growing nervous. This was so out of his wheelhouse. Maybe athletes were just meant to be athletes and High School Musical was a lie. It might be too much to juggle, with physics taking up so much of his time and even though the football season was over, he still had workouts to do. Maybe he should just focus on school right now. 

Thor knew he was only coming up with all these excuses because of his nerves. He needed to do this, if only to prove to himself that he can. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t casted, as long as he tried. Thor had vowed to be himself and do what he wanted to do, not for the benefit of others, and this was something he wanted. It didn’t matter that he was inexperienced, he knew he would work hard for it. He was a decent actor, dancing couldn’t be too hard for an athlete, and he had been acting most of his life, pretending to be something he wasn’t, for his father’s sake. 

It was only announced recently what the musical was going to be, and Thor’s excitement had only risen. He wasn’t extremely well versed with all the different musicals (there were so many of them!) and only had a few favorites. This was one of them. Thor remembered his mother taking he and Loki to see the movie when it came out in theaters and Thor would not stop singing for days. It was also very special to Thor because it taught him tolerance at a young age and ultimately, love knows no bounds. 

Although Thor had heard it was frowned upon in the theater community, he was singing a song from the musical itself. He couldn’t help that it was one of his favorite soundtracks, and he felt that this particular song was beautiful and showcased his voice well. It unfortunately wasn’t included in the movie, because Thor would have loved to hear Zac Efron crooning this love ballad (even though he made it clear he was singing about a girl). 

To try and get himself in the spirit, Thor blasted the soundtrack through his headphones while he walked to class. Hearing the opening beat to “Good Morning Baltimore” put a smile on his face and reminded him that he could do this. He nodded his head to Tracy singing “The world’s going to wake up and see, Baltimore and me.” Everyone was going to see Thor, really see him, for the first time. 

He reached Advanced Physics, still jamming out with a smile on his face. Bruce wasn’t there yet so Thor took his seat and drummed to the beat on the table. He didn’t notice when Bruce stopped in the doorway looking at Thor with a nervous, but determined expression. He didn’t notice when Bruce dropped his backpack next to the table, he was busy practicing the mashed potato mambo which his legs underneath the table. He didn’t even notice when Bruce pulled the chair out and sat down, until he kicked him in the shin. 

Thor yanked his earbud out and turned towards Bruce, hands out cautiously, wanting to touch him in comfort, but was unsure if he should. 

“Oh God, I’m so sorry! Are you okay, Bruce?” Thor’s eyes were wide and Bruce looked up at him. Then he...laughed. 

“That must be a good song.” Thor’s expression hadn’t changed, still gaping at Bruce guiltily. 

“So...I didn’t hurt you?” Bruce chuckled again. Thor realized he had never heard him laugh before. It was a glorious noise. 

“I can take it. I’m not made of glass, you know.” Wow. Thor liked this talkative, laughing, confident Bruce. 

Thor opened and closed his mouth like a fish. “Of course not, I-, sorry, I...I’m sorry about spilling beer on you at my party. I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable. I’m sorry you left.” The words poured out of Thor’s mouth before he could stop them, and Bruce’s face fell.

Bruce nodded and looked down at the desk. The conversation was over and fun, happy Bruce was gone. Thor had killed him. Again. Couldn’t he do anything right with this boy?

Soon enough, Dr. Pym stood in front of the room and everyone else fell silent, making Thor and Bruce’s uncomfortable silence a little less terrible. Class began with the passing back of the pop quizzes from the first day, now graded. 

When Dr. Pym placed Thor’s quiz upside down on his desk, he gave him a look with raised eyebrows, a superior, you-don’t-belong-here type of look. Thor flipped it over and buried his head in his hands, massaging his temples. First he’d killed Bruce’s spirit and now he was failing a class for college credit. This day just kept getting better. 

Thor didn’t notice Bruce look over his shoulder at his grade with a pitiful look. 

~

Nat had encouraged Bruce to go for it, of course. And he wanted to, he really did. Even though he’d gained confidence, he wasn’t up to asking out the star football player. He conceded to at least talk to the guy though. He walked into physics the next day with a determined air he didn’t know he had. It was his life though, and if he wanted something, he was going to at least try and get it. Without his dad dragging him down, Bruce was surprised at the type of person he was becoming. Really, this person had always been inside him, but he had been beaten into submission. 

Things started off well enough, Thor made Bruce laugh and he successfully avoided staring at the boy’s lips for too long. It seemed like their roles had reversed; Bruce had become the confident, sure of himself one of the pair, and Thor had become shocked into silence. Everything was great until Thor brought up the incident. 

Bruce was reminded of their roles. Thor was the popular athlete who hosted parties and could date anyone he wanted. Bruce was the nerdy student who kept to himself and had very few friends to speak of, much less girls knocking down his door to ask him out on a date. Thor didn’t want him, how could he? Bruce was a nobody. Thor was nice enough to apologize, but he didn’t really care about Bruce. They had absolutely nothing in common. 

After that, Bruce retreated back into himself. He tried not to look at Thor’s downcast puppy dog eyes. They didn’t mean anything. Thor didn’t care about him. It was even harder than usual to focus that day. Bruce received a 90% on his pop quiz, which was low for him (he had been distracted by Thor, of course) but recoiled at Thor’s pitiful grade. He had completely bombed the quiz. Why was he even in this class? He was obviously struggling and Bruce felt sad for him. 

Bruce got through the rest of the day without thinking too much about the awful class period, fortunately not having any classes with Nat that day. He couldn’t deal with her enthusiastic questioning today. The final bell rang and Bruce practically jumped out of his seat, eager to get out. He planned to go back to Tony’s house and take advantage of its emptiness by eating junk food and watching some mindless comedy. It was too cold to walk that day, so Bruce took Tony’s car while he stayed after school for student council. 

As he made his way over to the flashy convertible, he noticed somebody had already beat him there. A boy who was covered from head to toe in all black, including his slicked back hair smirked at Bruce. Bruce recognized this face but he couldn’t place it exactly. 

“Good afternoon, Bruce. How are you?” Bruce warily stepped closer. 

“Do I know you?” Bruce tried to make his voice sound as deep and menacing as possible. 

“You’ve been to my house.” The boy seemed to be teasing Bruce. It had been a long day and he was fed up. It seemed like the boy could sense this and tried to regain Bruce’s attention.

“I’ll give you a hint: My brother hosted a party. You were in attendance.” Bruce’s eyes widened in realization. This was the boy who’d looked so out of place at Thor’s party, who walked upstairs…

“Wait, you’re Thor’s…” Bruce trailed off shaking his head. This scrawny witch was in no way related to Thor. 

“Brother. Adopted. Loki.” He extended his hand to Bruce, who shook it, a little less cautious, but still on his guard. 

“Nice to meet you.” Bruce’s tone suggested it wasn’t really that nice to meet him, but that didn’t seem to affect Loki.

“I bet you’re wondering why I’m standing in front of your car.” Bruce really wanted to wipe the smirk off of Loki’s face. Bruce didn’t answer, so Loki continued.

“My brother is really struggling in Advanced Physics. It so happens that you are in that class, so I hear. I know you’re incredibly gifted in the scientific field and was thinking you could help my brother out.” That was not what Bruce expected Loki to say. He didn’t know what he had expected him to say, but it wasn’t that. 

“I’m really busy…” Bruce couldn’t think of anything else to say and he didn’t like the way Loki was looking at him. He just wanted him to leave. Loki didn’t seem like the type of person who would walk away from something he wanted though, unlike Bruce.

“I’m sure you are, I’ve heard how tough junior year could be. But if you could fit it into your schedule it would really mean a lot to Thor. I’ve heard volunteering looks great on a college application as well, especially a fellow student who is having problems.” Loki spoke with such conviction. 

Bruce weighed his options. Loki was right of course, it would look great on his college apps, which were coming up quickly. He also wanted to spend more time with Thor, against his better judgement. Logically, he knew he shouldn’t allow himself alone time with the guy, his heart just couldn’t take it. But his heart was practically jumping out of his chest at the thought. Ultimately, Bruce wanted the warmth Thor made him feel. Even if the feelings weren’t reciprocated, Bruce enjoyed having a crush. 

“Okay. I’ll do it. But it’ll have to work around my schedule.” Bruce tried to make it seem like he was in control, but he knew the logical Bruce Banner had left the building. His unstable and eager heart was guiding him to this decision. 

“Perfect. Oh, one more thing. Please don’t tell Thor I asked you. Present it to him as if it were your idea, offer your help. He’d be so embarrassed if he knew I had asked you. This class is so hard for him, but he’s too humiliated to admit it to anyone.” Loki added this as an afterthought, even though it changed the entire situation. Now Bruce had to ask Thor? How was he going to casually bring it up? 

As if Loki could read his mind, he replied “Just tell him you noticed he seemed to be having a hard time. Maybe say you accidentally saw his grade or something. Try and be very casual about it. He’ll respond to that.” Bruce nodded and Loki walked away. 

What did he just get himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow loki moving things along!! things are really going to interesting now y'all. 
> 
> pls pls pls leave a comment below and lemme know what you think!! your sweet comments make such a different I really appreciate them <3


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